1 1/2 -2 cups of baby greens or leaf lettuce (I basically like to make this a salad)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Lay your Joseph’s Wrap out and spread the refried beans onto one half.

sprinkle with cumin (makes a big difference trust me)

top with salsa & sour cream and spread out evenly over the top.

sprinkle with cheese and fold in half.

You can either microwave this on a plate for about a minute and a half, OR if you have access to a toaster oven as I do at work, microwave for about 45 seconds to help the cheese melt, then “toast” to medium to give it a nice little bit of crunch.

Top this gooey yumminess with your lettuce and then cut and eat. It may sound bizarre but your talking a super quick and easy meal with lots of protein, fiber, and a vegetarian meal (if you simply switch the beans). The lettuce makes a nice cool crisp contrast and it’s o-so yummy. I can’t wait to eat mine!

The Proud Return of the Smoothie!

Notice something different? That’s right, the smoothie! This may seem like a new and exciting turn I’m taking for breakfast but in fact, I’m bringing back an old friend.

After a thought-provoking girls night last week, I have been tugging on memory strings hard and trying to recall what exactly I did the last time I lost this weight (ehm, 15 lbs, ehm) during my sophomore year in college. Combine that with the horrifying revelation that my friend and I have literally almost switched weights! She LOST 20 lbs and I’ve nearly gained it! (again).

My friend told me she has lost 20 lbs since moving home but she wasn’t sure how as she wasn’t working out and she was wondering if there were maybe something wrong. “Well what are you eating?” I ask. “Well I have a salad for lunch, but I have a big dinner! And I drink a lot of tea.” “What about breakfast?” “I have a smoothie.” Well this is blatantly obvious to me now. “So that’s it? No snacks?” “No,” she says “that’s it.” Well duh! After some further investigation I uncovered that these salad usually consist of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and either cheddar or blue cheese and NO dressing. I repeat, NO DRESSING? I was in shock. I cannot eat lettuce without even a hint of olive oil and lemon at least. Her reason behind this was that she doesn’t like her containers all greasy. Well that settles it. Between all the fluid and raw veggies and fruit and fiber she consuming, no brainer on the weight loss.

So now I had to think back to my sophomore year when I dropped my freshman “ehm” 20. I had changed schools (I was a commuter) and made all of my classes in the afternoon so I could workout for a leisurely 2 whole hours (god to have that time now) before class, shower (my gym was right on the way to school) and go to school. I packed my lunch and only ate what I brought. I had gained that extra weight not by guzzling beer and pizza the way most freshman do but simply by eating FAR too much and not exercising. Over the course of 6 months I lost the weight, very healthily but I worked my BUTT off to do it and I kept it off for quiet a while. After moving in with the boy after graduating and joining the 40 hour a week work force, the weight has crept back on. Sneaky jerk.

Well I certainly don’t have an extra 2 hours to play with BUT I can recreate my diet. I had started drinking smoothies after getting my wisdom teeth out and surviving on them for a few weeks. They were very involved; Chobani <3, milk, plain, natural fruit juice (we are talking cranberry without sugar added, just strait up shall we say), frozen berries and a banana. I often had leftovers later on but when I started, lunch was eaten directly after my workout, in the car on my way to school and consisted of: 1/2 a Joseph’s wrap with chicken (homemade) or low sodium turkey, lettuce, mustard and a slice of cheese, asmall fat-free Stoneyfield Farm yogurt (which they either do not make or I cannot find, damn!) and a cup of raw veggies, usually green pepper strips (which I can eat like an apple), carrots, green beans or peas. That’s it. The whole sha-bang. Now my favorite study snack was a bag of popcorn and a glass of 2% chocolate milk but that wasn’t very often and then whatever healthy dinner my parents made. I ate dessert when I wanted to and then later on as I was maintaining my weight I would bring leftover, things like lentils, chicken vegetable soup, baked falafel with cucumber yogurt sauce, things like that.

I think about it now and realized I’ve slowly converted myself to eating too much. I was watching Matt portion out my dinner on Friday (a very healthy grilled shrimp, asparagus and plain brown rice) and I realized how this has happened. Matt, well he’s built like a lean teenage greyhound. He’s built to be a runner. I hate him for this. Me, not so much. I’m built to be a strong and curvy italian woman who produces lots of babies (uhm..no). The amount of food Matt needs is FAR different from the amount of food I need. This means, no more letting him portion my meals for me and watching my portions!

I have started the transformation back to this super healthy, and more appropriately sized diet with my smoothie. I MISSED my smoothies. I will be stocking up on almond milk and plain Chobani tonight to make them awesome and I’m on track with my lunch. I think back and I always treated myself for being good during the day and I was out having fun at bars when I turned 21, drinking mixed drinks full of calories 2 nights a week, just never too much. This means yes I can have chocolate, but not too much and no more eating Matt portions, but Lindsey portions.

Tonight we are taking the amazing smoked pulled pork that Matt made last week and making a favorite, lime and black bean tostados (usually made with grilled lime chicken). I so cannot wait!

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About Lindsey @ trail to train

I'm a (somewhat) normal girl with slightly unusal ideas about everything. I do fitness my way because thats the only way I know how and my extensive mishmashed knowledge of food and cooking to make great, fast, healthy meals.